Sunny, warm and a beautiful afternoon.

The game started with the feel of a FA Cup match. Both teams moving at 100 miles per hour from one end of the pitch to the other with the up most urgency and energy. Longwell Green were pressing the centre of the field trying to crack the defence with through balls lobed over the back 4. Their forwards were fast but were tamed after a while, with the only real shots coming from just outside the box. Bradley Stoke on the other hand had less pressure in the final third but were playing the ball from side to side trying to find good openings. About 25 minutes into the game Stoke gained a free kick from a harsh challenge 15 yards into Green’s half of the field. Craig Potter lofted a wonderful ball over the Longwell Green backs towards the back post and the on-rushing Stoke players. Roger Smith headed the ball back across the goal and past the keeper into the far side netting of the goal. For the rest of the half both teams had excellent build up play but cancelled each other out where and when it counted.

The second half quickly settled into a grumpy disjointed affair, the frequent whistles from the referee badly interrupting the flow of the game with both teams showing their displeasure from time to time.
Not long after the restart Longwell Green’s pace through the middle caught the Bradley Stoke defence napping as their forward ran 40 yard to slot the ball comfortably into the goal. The score didn't stay level for very long as the Longwell Green fullback fell over the ball to leave Smith unchallenged on the wing.
Smith crossed the ball into the penalty area where the forwards were waiting, Mustapha Jabang misfired but drew all their players to him which left Jerry Harper with an unmolested shot as it ran through to him. 10 minutes later Harper fed the ball wide into the top of the box as Smith ran through to have a shot. The keeper got down to save it, injuring his elbow and spilling the ball into the path of Ben Osbourne who blasted it into the roof of the net. The final Stoke goal came from a surging run and precise pass from James Palmer into the path of Jabang who walked the ball round the keeper to score. Longwell Green then made a substitution for their manager to come on, adding an extra shirt to their forward line. He made a big impact on the game as Longwell Green began getting more corners and shots. The referee then gave a penalty against Osbourne for questionable shirt pulling, which Green’s substitute blasted into the centre of the goal. Just before the match ended he scored again from a corner kick when he managed to squeeze the ball in without knowing much about it.

Match report courtesy of Roger Smith.